Alzheimer's and Dementia Training

The Board of Health has approved regulations related to Alzheimer's and related dementia in residential facilities for groups. The changes include:

  • Revised requirements governing required training related to providing for the needs of residents of the facility with dementia without changing the total amount of training required (8 hours annually).
  • Current employees of residential facilities for groups who received certain training required by prior regulations are deemed to have met the training requirements.
  • Requires a residential facility for groups to develop a person-centered service plan for each resident in collaboration with the resident, his or her family and other persons who provide care to the resident. The regulation also prescribes the required contents of a person-centered service plan, which include required supervision, authorized activities, the written program of activities for the resident and, if the resident has Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, measures to address the dementia and ensure the safety of the resident in the facility.
  • Changes previous regulations that required a residential facility which offers or provides care for a resident with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia to obtain an endorsement on its license and imposed certain requirements governing the operations of such a facility. The new regulations limit those requirements to only apply to a residential facility for groups that provides care to a resident with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia to the extent that the resident may be a danger to himself or herself or others under the circumstances prescribed by existing law.

    Training content and options

    The trainings listed below have been deemed to meet the "tier 2" requirements under the approved regulations. Tier 2 trainings must include, without limitation: 

    1. The psychsocial aspects of dementia;
    2. Current science concerning dementia;
    3. Signs and symptoms of dementia; and 
    4. Working with persons who have dementia, including, without limitation: 
      • Communication; 
      • Providing person-centered care;
      • Assessment of persons with dementia; 
      • Planning the provision of care; and 
      • Assisting with activities of daily living.

    If any of the trainings listed below does not require a participant to pass an examination after the training or provide a participant who successfully completes the training and passes the examination with a certificate of completion, the residential facility at which the participant serves as a caregiver must require the participant to pass such an examination or provide such a certificate, as applicable.

    • The Alzheimer’s Association Education Center
      • Offers several free Alzheimer’s and dementia programs available online, 24 hours a day.
    • The Brain Health Academy
      • Free, evidence-based courses to equip healthcare and wellness providers with the knowledge and resources to help people reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
    • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
      • Train Health Care Workers About Dementia
    • HealthCare Initiative
      • Online Dementia Care Training, Certification, and Credentialing
    • Relias Academy
      • The link above searches the catalog for 'dementia.' Relias Academy has a catalog of courses tailored specifically for the senior care, health and human services, corrections and law enforcement, and intellectual and developmental disabilities industries.
    • Hand-in-Hand
      • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) training toolkit for nursing homes focuses on caring for residents with dementia and on preventing abuse. CMS, supported by a team of training developers and subject matter experts, created this training to address the need for nurse aides’ in-service training on these important topics. The mission of the Hand in Hand training is to provide nursing homes with a high-quality training program that emphasizes person-centered care in the care of persons with dementia and the prevention of abuse. The facility is responsible for ensuring training materials/guides are utilized, providing a post-test, and certificates of completion are issued for each staff member that takes the course.

    Text of R043-22 regulation changes

    Pending codification into Nevada Administrative Code, the text of the approved regulation changes applicable to the above information can be found at the link below.